fiddlesticks 25, video from standard coach: open to all

[blitzcheer]

Sooooo, not being able to talk to most of the train that day sucked, huh? I don't know what to think about any of that, but since we can talk to each other now, I was thinking: How about we share where we're from, and see who's from worlds like ours?

And who speaks the same languages too! An actual list be better if that ever happens again, but for now, tell us about the kind of place you're from, what makes home home to you! You got kings or dragons? Machines? Portals to other worlds? Talking sea life? You just trying to get through school?

I'll go first to give you guys an idea, but share whatever you feel like!


( ooc: this is open to all, meaning feel free to put up a post and chat with other characters! )

Comments

1/2 This will be long, I am sorry. CW: potentially all. Also spoilers like whoa.

[sell_tickets]

[Khary found this by accident, as he never really thinks to check the network. But it happened to be blinking this time. It took him a bit to remember or figure out how to reply though.]

"You know, I give the person who created the web some credit. I've had to answer this question a few hundred times already it feels like. I never imagined that things I always took as basic could ever be so confusing for anyone."

[Grinning he sat back in his chair as he considered what to say. Mind there was no visible chair there, but he was sitting on something, all the same.]

"Alright so where I come from there are three Realms. The Realm of Light is Terrielle, but it is still a mess after the war. The Realm of Shadows, Kaleer, where I am from. And the Dark Realm, ****. The only Realm ever to be ruled by a male. Specifically The High Lord, Prince Saetan. Other than Uncle Saetan though," [He was pronouncing it Satan, for those who are wondering.] "Pretty much only Demons reside there usually. Cold, kind of depressing. I haven't been there much recently, not since the war ended actually... so not sure how much I can say, because I have no clue how much is the same. The High Lord claims he needs to withdraw from the living these days, but he'll still always let us pounce on him at the Keep when we need something. I probably should go bug him and be a pain in his *** once I get home..." [he mused with a grin.]

"Other than ****, since only the Blood can become Demons or Guardians, all the species in each Realm falls into one of two Categories, Blood or Landen. Blood are those of us with magic. There is usually one Blood for every five or ten Landens. This goes for all the various species, though there aren't that many Kindred in Terreille..." [she stopped and gave the kind of grin that just made people want to smack him, eyes twinkling with mischief.] "Though there are more there now than before Cassidy stepped up as Queen. But that's a whole other story..." [He laughed, quite amused. There were now fourteen Scelties in what had once been Dena Nehele. Fourteen little dogs, a few thousand Landens, a few hundred Blood. The dogs had them all out numbered. Thankfully Cassie's Court was smart enough to realize that.]

"I can tell you a little about the Landens, probably more than the Blood in Terrielle could. But I am not sure what there is to tell that isn't already obvious. They're just people. People who have to make do without Craft. But beyond that? You have some who are generally good and decent, some who look for any excuse to make trouble of the worst sorts, and all the kinds between. They're people. As varied as any. Though Landen animals seem to lack the brains that their Kindred cousins have. Landen Eyrians and humans seem smart enough. Jhinka....." [He shrugged.] "None of them have Craft, but we're pretty sure what makes Jhinka stupid is their base nature, inbreeding, and the fact that they are perfectly willing to die by the hundreds to take down a single foe, so they never have a chance to be more. Who knows. They're hardly willing to sit and chat with any non-Jhinka for us to find out. Even Witch never could get through to them." [A shadow over his eyes for just a moment as he remembered. It didn't so much bother him that she killed five thousand of them in the space of a breath. Okay, it did. But it was more what was left of her after.]

[To shake that off, he continued.] "Now the Blood in general I can speak more about because unlike Landens we have more that unifies us than divides us. This isn't to say we always agree, we almost never do. But across all lines of Species, there are things that all Blood have in common based on their gender or Caste that transcend all other differences."

"Also, the vast majority of us, those of us who survive to adulthood and survived the War, that is, all learned Protocol from a young age, and that is a strong unifier. Even if the Ladies back home like to pretend that it doesn't exist when it suits them. But it is like a game, and when it matters, like all games, it is put aside."

"Protocol outlines how we are expected to behave in formal situations based upon who we are with, what we can ask of another person, and what we owe to them in return. As an example, I am married to the Queen of Scelt, Morghann. I am her husband, I serve as her Consort, I am her friend, I serve with her in the Dark Court as a Brother of the Dark Court, and I serve under her as the Warlord of Maghre. By protocol there are things I am allowed to ask of, or even demand of my Queen that if I tried with my wife would have me sleeping in my own room for a month. Likewise, there are things I can ask of my wife that I could not ask of my Queen. Protocol not only makes it clear what I can ask, but which relationship we are working under at any given moment. My wife might be *****ed at me, but my Queen has to take me seriously." [He hoped that was clear, because how in ****'s name did you summarize lessons you learned from the cradle up in a way that those who have never heard of it could understand?]

"Now some people here seem to be under the impression that Blood Males such as myself look down upon females." [Nope, can't do it. Can't keep a straight face. That was still just so ridiculous it always cracked him up.]

[When he was done laughing, he wiped his eyes, the put his hands back in his pockets and leaned back to continue.]

"The Blood are matriarchal. the highest Caste is that of a Queen. The Queen is the law where she rules. Women rule, males serve. That said, Protocol gives us rules on what we are allowed to ask of a woman in return. And limits what they are allowed to command us to do. Or rather... what commands we must follow. But service is a contract. Any female can ask me a favor. Actually any male could also, but un less we're already friends, I'm far more likely to help out the woman who asked than the man. But only someone I have agreed to serve has the right to give me an order. There are a few different kinds of contracts, the two most common are a timed contract and a lifetime contract. A timed contract is usually in increments of one, three, or five years. During that time you agree to do whatever you are commanded by the Queen to whom you have given your loyalty, or walk away from her. Now Protocol does give us all sorts of room to try and change her mind, but her word is law. As an example, there was a bad Queen giving a friend of ours a hard time a while back. A hard lesson, if you will. She ordered one of her males to kidnap a youngster who served in my friend's court indirectly. Now had the bad Queen's court had the ****s they were born with, they would have filed a formal complaint with Sabrina, the Queen who rules the Territory that includes the district the bad Queen ruled. They didn't. So other than filing a formal complaint, his options were to comply and rend his honor doing a dishonorable thing, or to break his contract which would make any Queen think twice about ever letting him serve in their court. Further, had he refused, the bad Queen would have been full in her rights, by law and by protocol, to have him punished, and that could include whipping or even having him killed. She was also within her rights to beggar her Court, which she did, and let a once prosperous district fall apart. Which she did. Sabrina, on the other hand, was within her rights to terminate her Contract, which she did, and take over ruling to save the people and the Land. Which she did. She was also within her rights to have the woman killed, which she did not do."

[He needed to stop talking about Kermilla.]

"A good Queen, however, not only would not have given a dishonorable order, but she would listen to the males who serve her. Even if ultimately she did not agree."

[A faint smile teased around his lips, which was his first warning that he had stopped smiling.]

"As an example... my cousin and the Queen of the Dark Court... oh did she ever get furious with us all one time. All us Boyos, that is. The people to whom she was born" [Those horrid excuses for Blood were not her family.] "Had come under the misunderstanding that she and her half sister were under contract to the Dark Court, and to try and take them both away. Well her maternal Grandmother had brought two Queens who served under her and their escorts. The problem was, one of those Queens had her sights set on my best friend, Aaron." [He shook his head. Then realized he needed to clarify something in case it was not the same for other people.]

"Among the Blood, a Queen, even if she is married, is allowed the pleasure of other males that are hers to command, though most Queens who are married make their husbands their consort and remain faithful. They do not have to, it is just polite and honorable. A man however, pledges his fidelity with the marriage contract. We are allowed to be with no others but our wife. In fact, when a child reaches the age of their Birthright ceremony, that is also when a woman declares paternity. Until then our legal rights to our children is limited. But at their ceremony the mother claims or denies paternity. So any husband with a young child is especially vulnerable to predators like her. Because even the suspicion of infidelity can cost them their marriage and their children."

[He rubbed his face. This was all too heavy for him, really, but it was important for people to know if he really was stuck here. And more for if any of the ladies got caught in the web.]

"Aaron of course would never even consider stepping out on Kalush, and not just because all of us would have skinned him alive, brother or not, if he ever hurt her. He loves Kalush and their little daughter Arianna with all that is in him. But the other Queen was after him. The rest of us were running interference as best we can. Mother Night he even hid behind Surreal at one point and that was before she came to accept we were treating her as one of us, as family. Well, things hit a boiling point when Vania publicly implied that Aaron had been entertaining her that morning. Aaron lost it. Would have killed her then and there. Would have if Surreal hadn't stopped him. Frankly I would have helped him. But Surreal was sure he'd get in trouble with our Queen. And she was right. But the reason he was in trouble, the reason we all were, was a mark of what makes her a good Queen. She wasn't angry because she believed Vania. She wasn't angry because Aaron almost killed her. She was angry because Aaron was suffering this whole time, and never let her know, that we all helped cover it up to keep her from having to confront her grandmother, since it was the older woman's place to shut down the Queens who served under her when they were misbehaving in another Queen's territory."

[A faint smile as he forced himself to think of Jaenelle, not of Vania and Alexandra.] "When she came to understand why we had done it... she is the Queen, she couldn't tell us we were right to do it, because that would imply she was alright with us keeping things from her. But she could in her own way show that she wasn't angry any more and that the punishment was over." [A huge smile then, and a chuckle. Mother Night he loved Jaenelle.] "She stubbed her toe." [He was his usual amused self again. "Oh, I doubt she actually did, because none of us would ever condone her intentionally causing herself even that small amount of pain for our sakes. But she told us she stubbed her toe and then put up with hours of male fussing as if she had broken her leg or arm being foolish. She let us get her pillows and cool drinks and books she hadn't read yet and tucking her in and hovering without grumbling at us at all." [Another laugh.] "It was great. I still owe Aaron and Choasti for making sure I was aware of the time frame for the fussing, since there isn't space on her balcony for all of us to have gotten a turn to fuss."

[His usual bright smile was fully back.]

"Fussing is a great example of what Protocol allows us males to get away with. There is just something wonderful about the look in the eyes of a female you care about when she is plainly just putting up with this because she cares about you. And well, it is in Blood Males to serve. It is a pull in us, an instinctive drive. We yearn to serve a woman we can respect. And what is fussing but the chance to serve and be a pain in the *** at the same time? Plus there really is no better feeling for a Blood Male than knowing that a woman you care about is safe and nearby and well. And if she is pleasantly grumpy with you then she isn't screaming at you or thinking about the next stupid risk she is going to take that she is sure is perfectly reasonable, that you know is utterly foolish. It is a moment when you aren't arguing."

"And trust me, I love thew whole Coven as though they were my sisters and my cousins. And in all but blood, they pretty much are. But we can scream at each other like the worst of foes when we get at it." [Another laugh.] "When Yasi and Jaenelle get into it the windows rattle from their voices. And the only people who can really stop them are the High Lord roaring them both quiet until they can talk at normal levels, or Ladvarian. For those of you now aware of Scelties, Ladvarian is a Scletie, which mostly means he is a tiny tog who lives to herd stubborn sheep of any species, and who has sharp teeth. He is also one of the few Kindred who has no qualms nipping any of us if he feels we need a nipping. Though he's aware that if he ever nips Jaenelle we'll all turn over our rights to go after him to her husband." [A grin.] "Of course then he and Jaenelle would wind up arguing and the rest of us get to sit back and enjoy the show."

Re: 1/2 This will be long, I am sorry. CW: potentially all. Also spoilers like whoa.

[sell_tickets]

"That said, as to fussing and protecting, it is not for a second that we think females are in anyway inherently less able to protect themselves than we are. Need to get that in here so Karla and Gabrielle don't find this and kick my ***. To say nothing of what Surreal would do. That's not why we're protective. There are a number of reasons, but one of the strongest is that we are all aware that we are replaceable. Doesn't mean anyone of us WANTS to die. Mother Night, no. If any of us die for a stupid reason we have to deal with the High Lord ripping into us for being stupid. Trust me, you don't want to be dead while Saetan is angry at you." [Poor Morton.... He missed Morton a lot, but refused to focus on that now.] "It is that among the Blood, females are rarer to begin with, but they're also stronger, and they can do so much more than us males can. It takes a Queen to sing the Land back, to heal the Land. Only a Queen has the proper instinct and right to rule. Queens are rare. Good Queens are rarer and treasured for it. But even Warlord princes... are far more common. Black Widows can do things no other of the Blood can even dream of, and with only two exceptions in the whole of our history, Black Widows are only female. Priestesses are the ones with the intrinsic instinct for opening the Gates between the Realms. And Healers can do so much more to mend the body then any male trained in Healing craft. So we are trained from the cradle up that the women are simply more valuable. Also, if we use our strength to protect them, they have their strength for doing what only they can do. Then there is the nature of female temper. While not true of all females of the Blood, for many their temper burns colder and longer once it hits the tipping point. If a Blood Male finds himself on the Killing Edge, a woman he trusts can easily bring him back before he can slaughter anyone. Part of that is protocol, part of that is just the instinctive bond between us and a woman we can trust. We say they hold our leash, we mean it. But there is no instinct there that can pull a woman back. Protocol can help, but it can't..." [How to explain it.]

"When Aaron was going to kill Vania, Surreal couldn't stop him. Lucivar and Chaosti couldn't get through to him, they were all physically touching him, speaking in his ear and he couldn't hear them through the red haze. But Jaenelle stepped into the room, and ordered him to attend, and that snapped him out of it, brought him back. But when Jaenelle went cold after her half sister was injured when someone tried to kidnap her... Nothing any of us could do could help her, could calm her. Females can help us stop from doing what we will regret. It is far harder for us to help the women. So that is another reason males defend."

[He leaned his head back a bit.] "And if I die defending a woman I care about... I'll be upset I died, but I will at least know she is safe. I can take pride in that, and comfort. But if I fail to protect her and she dies? That is with me the rest of my life. So protecting is also selfish."

[He grinned as bit.] "Alright, this is getting long so I'll try and speed through the next bit. Castes. Castes are set at birth. No one knows what leads one person to be a certain Caste or another. Black Widows often run in families, but not always. Otherwise, there is no rhyme or reason that we've ever found. So male castes, from weakest to strongest. Blood Male - basically the catch all for ant male of the Blood, but also used for any Male of the Blood who does not have any other Caste. Then there are Warlords. That is my Caste. We're on the weaker side, but also tend to be less aggressive than the other male Castes. We are roughly equal in status with a witch, not to be confused with Witch, which is a whole other topic." [he grinned.] "Then there are Princes. Now just like Blood Male is a catch all for all males of the Blood as well as a Caste in and of itself, Prince is a Caste, but it is also a title used for Princes and Warlord Princes in formal settings. A Prince, as in the Caste, is roughly equal to a healer or a Priestess. Then the strongest male Caste are the Warlord Princes. They are the most aggressive, most passionate, most drawn to females and most in need of them. They are the second highest Caste among any gender and are a law onto themselves, other than a Queen. A Queen is the only Caste who outranks a Warlord Prince."

"Then on the female side, Blood Females, again a catch all as well as a Caste. Then a witch, not to be confused with Witch. Then Healer and Priestess, which I more or less explained already. Then the next rank is Black Widow." [Where to even start.] "This is the only Caste you don't have to be born into. Natural Black Widows have a snake tooth under their nail that has poison sacs. How lethal their poison is usually depends on their Jewel Rank, which I'll get into. They have an instinctive awareness of poisons, and are immune to most of them. All Black Widows are trained in weaving Tangled Webs, which can be used to see the future, or at least, possible futures, as well as they can be woven to ensnare minds. Much like mine is ensnared, making me think that I am here. All the months I have been here, could have been a second in reality, or years. No way to know. My mind fully believes that I am physically here so I am, in all practical ways, here. If I die here, it might return me to my body, or it might kill my body. No way to know, really. It is why Black Widows are so feared and respected. Also, not sure why, but every Black Widow I ever met seems to have this lovely wonderful tartness to their personality. They're the women generally the most likely to give you a feral smile while offering to feed you your own entrails." [There was warm amused affection in his voice.]

"And then of course Queens. Queens are drawn instinctively to the Land and to serve the people by ruling them. They are the focus of our society, they form Courts and unless they serve under another Queen or live in another Queen's territory, they are answerable to no one. Now Kaleer is currently in an odd situation. You see a Territory Queen is the law in her territory. Basically the realms are broken into Territories, each ruled by a Queen, then the Territory is broken into Provinces each of which is ruled by a Queen who answers only to the Territory Queen, and each Provenance is broken into Districts, each ruled by a Queen who answers to both Queens above her. But in Kaleer now, for the first time ever, there is a Queen who rules over the Territory Queens. Jaenelle. Witch. Those of us in the Dark Court, Jaenelle's Court, are the only males allowed to serve two Queens. So I serve my Territory Queen, my wife Morghann, but I also serve Jaenelle. It is a unique situation, but was the only way to protect Kaleer, so she stepped up when we needed her. She claims she is no longer the Realm Queen, and if she shows up here and tries to tell you that, just tell her that's nice and move on." [He chuckled.]

"The next consideration is Jewel Rank. When we reach a certain age in our childhood, usually about eight, we have our Birthright Ceremony. We go to the Dark Alter and pray, and if we are to be strong enough, we are gifted with our Birthright Jewels. Then we emerge and our mothers announce or deny paternity. When we come of age as adults, if we have finished our training and fulfilled basic biological rites of passage, we return to the Dark Alter and pray. And if we are lucky, some or all of our Birthright Jewels become up to three Ranks darker. The Darker the Jewel, the more power we can hold within ourselves safely, the stronger we are, and the further into the Abyss we can go without shattering our Inner Web. The Jewels from lightest to Darkest are White, Yellow. Tiger Eye, Rose, Summer-sky, Purple Dusk, Opal, Green. Sapphire, Red. Gray. Ebon-Gray, and Black. Unlike Caste, Jewels tend to follow bloodlines. Darker Jeweled parents tend to have Darker Jeweled kids. I wear the Sapphire, as some of you may have noticed. That is my Jewel of Rank. The Jewel I earned as an adult. So this means my reservoir of power is shallow compared to say, the High Lord, who wears the Black, but far deeper than Cassidy who wears the Rose. Also the Darker your Jewel, the more food you eat and the more alcohol it takes before you get buzzed, let alone drunk. Two people with the same Caste generally settle dominance by Jewel Rank, and there is some range within each Rank as well. One friend I know had Birthright Purple Dusk and after his Offering to the Darkness came away with a Purple Dusk that was only slightly Darker than he went in with."

[He took a deep breath.] "The last consideration in our society is social standing. This basically comes down to political and financial power. There is less of a defined social structure here, but there is one term to know. Aristo. Aristos are the people who have more money than they could spend if they live reasonably. Often Territory Queens become Aristo if their Territory thrives, just from the tithes. Some of us are born to it. There is an expectation of certain levels of behavior from someone born Aristo, of course, and additional lessons to be learned. Aristo households usually have a staff of at least four people, ranging from butlers to maids to cooks to groomsmen. I am always willing to trade cooking for other chores here because frankly... I've always had someone to do my cleaning and washing for me, and I am quite content to leave it that way. I have more than enough work serving in two Courts as well as ruling a Provenance on my Queen's behalf, and being a father. My focusing on those tasks is not laziness, it is sense as much as a Queen focusing on being a Queen rather than on the dusting and mopping, no matter WHAT Cassidy claims," [he said with a laugh.] "That said though, nearly every male I know not only knows how to cook, but enjoys it, even if he has a cook on staff. Every Queen I know has her own private garden that the gardener is not allowed near, and while yes I have stable hands, I raise my horses myself and train them. Even had I not been born rich, even had I not served in two Courts, I would still probably be rich off of the horses I raise and train for sale to loving homes. I will not appologize for any of that, of course. And should we come to a mission with horses, please know that no matter what team I am assigned to, I will be working with the horses unless someone I have agreed to serve orders me otherwise."

[He had a soft spot for dogs too. Don't let him fool you.]

"So as Uncle Saetan likes to say, our culture is a complex dance with the lead always changing, centered always around a Queen. Based on Jewel Ranks, I outrank Rainier, for example. He wears the Opal which makes my Sapphire Dominant. He outranks me however in Caste, being a Warlord Prince, as well as in personal history as he was our dance teacher when we were children. But I outrank him in the Dark Court as I am one of the First Escorts in the First Circle. So depending on how we are speaking changes which of us is Dominant in the conversation, and it can change in an eye blink, with Protocol as out guide."

"I think perhaps, other than the legend of Witch, and some stories here and there, that is probably enough information for the purpose?" [He asked, more to himself then anyone else, then realized one more thing he should add.]

"Ah yes, Chess. I am happy to teach Chess to anyone who is willing to play rationally. Playing chess across gender lines generally leads to arguments, however. Someone recently commented on how Chess seems to mirror the gender relationships in my world. This is actually a very good observation, since in Chess the most powerful piece is the Queen, but when she is taken the game is over, making her the one that must be protected at all costs. Every Queen I have ever played Chess with will sacrifice her Queen to save her males. Which is why we males usually start screaming and wanting to throttle the girls. Then we just wind up playing Cradle to put the ladies back into a smooth temper so that we don't wind up sleeping upside down hung up by our heels over the sofa rotating slowly all night," [he added with a chuckle.]